California Lawmakers Render Fracking Regulations 'Unrecognizable'

A bill heading to California Governor Jerry Brown’s desk for approval, originally slated to impose regulations on the hydraulic fracturing industry, has been so watered down with amendments it is “no longer recognizable,” an L.A. Times editorial said on Thursday, echoing the sentiment of several environmental groups that have withdrawn their support.

Brown is expected to sign the bill in the coming days.

Many groups had opposed the bill from the beginning over fears that any fracking will do great harm to local communities and the environment.

“SB 4 tragically green-lights an extremely dangerous practice with terrible public health impacts near the homes and schools of California’s communities already most overburdened by pollution,” stated Madeline Stano, fellow at the Center on Race, Poverty & the Environment and member of Californians Against Fracking.

“It started off as a dangerously weak bill that won’t protect California or our environment from fracking,” said Zack Malitz, a campaign manager at CREDO Action, a California-based progressive group that opposed the bill from the start. “It will only provide political cover to the industry and its allies, who will claim that fracking is safely regulated.”

However, as the bill made its way from the state Assembly to the Senate, the bill grew even weaker, leaving the more moderate groups who offered support for the regulations to drop their backing, including Natural Resources Defense Council, California League of Conservation Voters, Clean Water Action and the Environmental Working Group.